Breakdown: Purdue's win over No. 21 Minnesota

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Here was the story of Purdue's second half vs. No. 21 Minnesota Saturday night, the one that propelled the Boilermakers' to an 81-62 rout of the Golden Gophers.

There's eight-and-a-half minutes to go in a half in which the Boilermakers could do no wrong.

Only now they did. Trevion Williams elevated for a one-handed dunk that went terribly awry, missing everything and flying to the corner.

"That was an assist, actually," Williams joked afterward.

Yes, even an air-balled dunk came up roses for Purdue on this night, as the ball flew right to Mason Gillis, who canned a three-pointer from said corner to put the Boilermakers up 14 about 12 minutes after they'd trailed by five at halftime and about 30 minutes after they'd trailed themselves by 14 in the first half.

Purdue could indeed could do no wrong after halftime, or even a little bit before, as the Boilermakers narrowed that deficit to just two possessions at the break, after Minnesota's outlier shooting had sprung the Gophers to a robust lead.

"I thought we were in a great position (at halftime)," Coach Matt Painter said, "for the way they shot and who made their shots and the way we shot the basketball."

That was the strange dynamic to this game.

Purdue banked on the worst three-point shooting team in the Big Ten not being able to make it pay for its attentiveness to Minnesota star Marcus Carr, who was virtually shut out for the game. For a few minutes anyway, Purdue was wrong. Minnesota opened the game 6-of-8 from three, most of them coming from shooters whose percentages have been less than glowing this season.

"That was our plan, to get the ball out of Carr's and (Liam) Robbins' hands," guard Eric Hunter said, "and make other people make plays, and they did.

"But we knew it wouldn't last the whole game."

Meanwhile, Purdue — playing its second of at least three games without Sasha Stefanovic — was 0-for-5 from three-point range before halftime, its second straight first-half shutout.

But it was then the Boilermakers' turn to erupt.

Gillis' three a minute and 10 seconds into the half broke the seal and the floodgates opened.

Purdue was 8-of-10 from three-point range in the second half.

The star ...

Brandon Newman's been challenged by his inconsistency, the roller-coaster he's ridden between big games and non-descript ones.

"It's probably the most frustrating thing for me," Newman said. "How bad I want to be good and how bad I want to help this team and be consistent on a nightly basis. That's one of the things I'm working on most, being consistent."

In a season of peaks and valleys, here was the mountaintop.

Newman poured in a career-high 29 points and was the best guard on the floor in a game that included a potential All-American.

The redshirt freshman was 5-of-6 from three, including a bank job late in the second half, the kind of shot that goes for you when you're on a special run.

"I thought I was getting in the flow of things more offensively and defensively," Newman said.

Eric Hunter scored four points, but ...

"Eric Hunter had one of his best games since he's been here," Painter said.

Indeed, he did.

Not only did the veteran lead the collective defensive effort on Carr, but he had absolute command of Purdue's offense during its surge, finishing with seven assists against two turnovers.

The defense was the headliner, though.

Carr missed 11 of his 13 shots, was scoreless at halftime and only shot two free throws. One of his field goals was a putback.

"It wasn't all me, of course," Hunter said. "We watched a lot of film. There was a lot of attention to detail and stuff on ball screens. It worked out for me."

Trevion Williams, Zach Edey and Mason Gillis needed to be the physical aggressors in this game, because of a distinct advantage in that area.

They did.

Purdue outrebounded Minnesota 44-27 and parlayed 17 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points.

Williams rebounded numerous missed threes for easy baskets, and Gillis helped close the game out with a pair of putbacks that effectively slammed the door on Minnesota.

Williams finished with 17 point sand 14 rebounds and Gillis chipped n 11 and nine.

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